


Together

by luxuriousvoyage11



Category: Figure Skating RPF
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-11
Updated: 2018-04-11
Packaged: 2019-04-21 09:42:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,036
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14282202
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/luxuriousvoyage11/pseuds/luxuriousvoyage11
Summary: Tessa's first day of high school.





	Together

**Author's Note:**

> I’ve been following these two since 2009 but only recently discovered all of the fan accounts and RPF which has been so much fun going through! I’ve never written anything like this before but I’m so obsessed with them lately that I couldn’t at least try so hopefully, it’s not too bad and weepy!   
> Kudos and comments are always appreciated! :) Hope you enjoy.

2002

The second her name was called, she knew she was an outsider. She had gotten to first period fifteen minutes early specifically to snag a seat in the farthest back corner, her body sinking down the cold plastic in a poor attempt to hide. She watched the rest of her classmates come in, laughing with one another and reminiscing about their summer and how lame middle school was and how hot Jack had gotten. It seemed as if the whole class knew each other already from years of prior schooling and that made her stomach sink, even more, knowing cliques and friend groups were already formed.

“Tessa Virtue,” the teacher utters during attendance a few moments later. Her wrist shoots up lowly, her pink nails in the air, “here,” she mumbles quietly. Almost every student had turned towards the corner that had been her sanctuary for all of fifteen minutes with gawking eyes. The confused expressions of twenty-five faces staring at her made her feel hot and she knew her cheeks were turning bright red against her pale skin. She forced a small smile before averting her gaze, letting out a choppy exhale while praying the day just went by quickly.

By lunchtime, her nerves were shot; if she felt one more pair of questioning eyes on her, she was going to scream and run back to London. She hadn’t seen Scott once in the hallways and they didn’t even share a lunch period, a nagging feeling in her chest that hadn’t left since they had swapped schedules a few days before. “You’ll be alright, Tess,” he promised softly. And she supposes he’s not wrong, she is alright, not having fallen victim to harsh insults or an intentional foot in an aisle.

She was just coming off the lunch line, trying to reassure herself nothing that bad has even happened today, that she didn’t see the boy standing in the middle of the cafeteria. One moment she’s making a beeline for an empty table and the next, her white shirt is covered in meat sauce and her now opened fruit cup lays around her feet. “Shit, sorry,” the boy says, “I was trying to read my schedule and-“

“It’s okay,” she squeaks out, tears lining her eyes as she sees the commotion has got the attention of the entire cafeteria. From across the room, she hears “spaz!” and that just about does it. She throws her tray into the closest garbage and jogs out of the entryway, tears falling down her face at this new stupid school in this new stupid town where nobody even likes her. She turns the corner and just misses another person, their hands coming out to steady her wobbly frame.

“Oh, god, I’m sorry,” she says, the defeat in her voice obvious.

“Tess?”

She recognizes his voice immediately (also knowing he’s the only person here that would call her that) and would laugh at the coincidence of seeing him now if she wasn’t feeling absolutely ridiculous. She can only shake her head, resting her forehead on his shoulder and crying silently into his sweatshirt. He puts his hand on her waist, that same gentle touch she’s so used to on the ice, and guides her toward the empty hall monitor desk. He eases her into the seat before bending down and placing his two hands on her skinny knees.

“T, please, what happened?” he pleads, hating the sight and sounds of her crying.

His thumb rubs the denim material, looking up at her and feeling a mix of emotions in his chest: sadness at the fact she’s crying on her first day, guilt that he didn’t have the chance to be there for her today, and anger at whoever made her cry. Tessa looks up and sees the familiar anger in his eyes, all too aware of the boy's temper from failed skating lifts or low scores.

“Nobody made me cry,” she says softly, “today has just been horrible. Everyone’s been staring at me like I’m some kind of alien and then I bumped into this boy and everything went on my shirt,” she says, gesturing to the mess that Scott hadn’t even noticed. “It’s so scary, Scott,” she whimpers, “we just got here and I already feel so alone and disliked.”

Scott’s eyes narrow at the word ‘alone,’ but he drops it in the presence of his red-eyed, wet-faced partner.

“I know, Tess, I’m sorry,” he says quietly, “we just have to remember that this is all gonna be worth it, okay?” he says, rubbing her knees reassuringly. She nods and sniffles, wiping her wet face with a curved hand. Their eyes meet and she feels calm almost instantly, his familiar intense gaze of reassurance and comfort causing a small smile to twitch at her lips.

“And besides,” he says, breaking the fervent silence, “we’ve got each other, right?”

A smile finally appears on her face and his heart lifts at the sight, not being able to help his hand coming up to wipe the wetness off her face. She doesn’t breathe until his hand inches away from her face, nodding her head slowly.

“Together,” she says, recalling one of their many phrases.

“Together,” he repeats, smiling up at her before standing and reaching his arm down. She takes it and their hands intertwine, her pinky snaking through his index and middle finger as Scott guides them towards the lunchroom. “I don’t think that’s a-“

“Oh no, I didn’t ditch class to see you cry and then leave you with no food,” he says, “besides, I’m hungry too.”

She rolls her eyes playfully as they make their way towards the cafeteria before he stops them shortly. She looks to the side to see him unzipping his sweatshirt and throwing it around her shoulders carefully. They look at one another and have a silent exchange with their eyes before Tessa zips up the oversized hoodie in gratitude. They find a quiet table in the front of the lunch room and it’s the most Tessa has laughed or smiled since she got to Waterloo.

Needless to say, Scott takes twenty-minute bathroom breaks every day for the rest of the school year.


End file.
